It’s the weekend, and we’re rounding out this week chock full of new smartphone announcements with a roundup of world leaders and their smartphones of course. Inspired by a Chinese media report , here are a couple of dignitaries across the world and their favorite gadgets.
US President Obama made the news in 2009 when he fought a fierce battle with Secret Service to keep his trusty BlackBerry with him when he took on the nation’s top role, and so far, he’s been BlackBerry’s most high-profile fan.
Not the entire Obama family has such an overwhelming attachment to BlackBerry though. At the president’s second inauguration earlier this year, his daughters showed their love for Apple’s iPhone.
On the other side of the political spectrum, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un makes an appearance in Techweb’s report — not with his country’s apparent self-manufactured phone “Arirang”, but with a HTC — specifically the HTC Butterfly, a top-tier handset on par with the company’s flagship HTC One. The Butterfly also comes in a limited edition Hello Kitty version ; maybe Kim will want to buy one for his daughter, the existence of whom ex-NBA player Dennis Rodman revealed this week .
We don’t know what smartphone Chinese President Xi Jinping uses (it seems that he has not been photographed in public with a smartphone yet), but his wife Peng Li Yuan was caught on camera recently using -gasp- Apple’s iPhone 5.
So much for blasting Apple’s policies — still, Apple CEO Tim Cook did apologize to Chinese consumers , so maybe the country’s leaders are free to use it now. Xi does not look very impressed though.
Elsewhere in Asia, Thailand’s first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra does not only have one smartphone — she uses a total of five — one of which is a white Nokia Lumia 920 .
Back in 2010, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had no mobile phone . However, Techweb notes that since 2012, Putin has been using Russian smartphone MTS-Glonass 945 , an Android device.
Crossing over to Europe, the British Royal Family is apparently in love with Apple. Prince William was seen using the iPhone at the Summer Olympics last year, as was Prince Harry . Even Queen Elizabeth II reportedly ordered staff to buy her an iPad .
On the other hand, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is a fan of BlackBerry — so much so that when in Dubai last year his phone decided to ‘ping’ during a Q&A session , he openly took it out to show the audience.
Given that the BlackBerry is clearly a major deal for global leaders, it makes the claim that the UK Government Communications Headquarters allegedly managed to penetrate the security on delegates’ BlackBerry smartphones — while hosting foreign politicians and officials during two Group of 20 summit meetings in London in 2009 — even more shocking.
Rounding off this post is German Chancellor Angela Merkel — one of the rare government heads who has actually come out to endorse a mobile phone — in this case the BlackBerry Z10.
She didn’t look all that pleased with the phone at some point in time though. Maybe she already suspected that the struggling BlackBerry would land up in a situation in which it has to find a new backer willing to take the company or one that is happy to partner with the handset maker under a joint venture or other strategic partnership.
Well, these are a couple of phones used by some of the most powerful people in the world. What do you think of their choices?
Headline image via Thinkstock , Image credits: Saul Loeb via AFP/Getty Images , AFP PHOTO/ KCNA VIA KNS, Elizabeth Ruiz via AFP/Getty Images , Yingluck Shinawatra’s Facebook Page , Alexey Druzhinin via AFP/Getty Images , Carl de Souza via AFP/Getty Images , John Stillwell via Getty Images , Julian Stratenschulte via AFP/Getty Images
Geeksphone Revolution dual-boot Android and Firefox OS smartphone now on sale for €222
If you’ve ever wanted a smartphone that could run both Android and Firefox OS, you’re in luck. Geeksphone is now accepting orders for the Revolution , the first commercial handset to do just that.
Geeksphone is a Spanish startup best known for the Keon and Peak , a pair of low-end, developer-focused Firefox OS smartphones that launched ahead of commercial handsets by ZTE and Alcatel .
The Revolution replaces the Peak+ , another Firefox OS handset that Geeksphone was building, with a 4.7-inch IPS qHD display, a dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of onboard storage, backed up by a microSD card slot for up to 32GB of extra space.
The device is powered by a 2,000 mAh battery and boasts an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, alongside a 1.3-megapixel variant on the front. It’s available on the Geeksphone site for €222.31 and worldwide shipping is available.
It’s unclear whether there’s a market for a dual-OS smartphone running both Android and Firefox OS. The Revolution is a unique device though and should appeal to developers, modders and gadget fans who are keen to try Mozilla’s mobile OS on a slightly more powerful handset.
Read Next: Meet the bold 20-year-old behind Spanish Firefox OS smartphone maker Geeksphone [Video] / Blackphone: A new privacy-focused smartphone from Silent Circle and Geeksphone
➤ Geeksphone Revolution (Via GSM Arena )
Microsoft Lumia 830 and 930 arriving in special golden edition starting next week
Microsoft today announced that its Lumia 830 and 930 Windows Phone 8.1-based smartphones will soon be available in a special anodized golden finish on the chassis.
While the devices are otherwise unchanged, if you’ve been awaiting a slightly classier looking version of either handset, then this is the news you wanted. The Lumia 930 Gold will arrive first – in black – from this week, and will then be made available in white at the end of the month.
The Lumia 830 Gold, will also be available in the same colors and is set to land in February. The 830 and 930 Gold will be offered in Europe, Asia Pacific and China, India, the Middle East and Africa, Microsoft said. Price will vary according to operator.
With CES 2015 drawing to a close, and Mobile World Congress 2015 just around the corner, it makes sense that Microsoft would want to eke whatever life there is left in its existing ranges before introducing new models.
➤ Say hello to special golden editions of Lumia 830 and Lumia 930 [Lumia Conversations Blog]
Read next: Nokia Lumia 930 review: Finally, a flagship Lumia that feels like a phone first and a camera second